Pollution of the upper atmosphere by rockets

Abstract

This report estimates the amounts of various constituents that would have to be continually injected by rockets into the upper atmosphere in order to double the worldwide natural concentrations there. Involved in the calculations are: (a) the natural atmospheric abundances of constituents such as H20, CO2, NO, Na, K, Li, H, etc. ; (b) the residence times in various regions of the atmosphere, since these determine how rapidly a constituent will be removed; and (c) the chemical or photochemical stability of a substance exposed to the upper atmosphere environment. It is concluded that a doubling of the CO2, H20, or NO content would require per year on the order of l0 s to l0 s Saturntype rockets, each injecting 100 tons of exhaust above 100 kin. On the other hand, a few hundred small rockets per year, each containing 10 kg of the chemical, would probably double the Na content; similarly, less than two such rockets per year would be expected to double the Li content. These last conclusions have implications for future tracer experiments using these substances.

Verification of large-scale rapid transport in the lower thermosphere: Tracking the exhaust plume of STS-107 from launch to the Antarctic

“…To date, over 130 flights have been made through the MLT. The general impact of powered flight through the MLT has been of interest since Kellogg [1964] presented calculations related to anthropogenic effects on the upper atmosphere. The main conclusion was that even though the MLT is considered tenuous, other than with a few exceptions, it would require thousands of large rocket launches annually to impact the worldwide natural budget of CO 2 , NO, or water vapor in the MLT.…”

“…In the latter, charge exchange with atomic oxygen ions rapidly ionized water vapor, which then quickly recombined with free electrons effectively generating a depletion zone in the vicinity of the release. Kellogg [1964] provided estimates related to the effects that prevailing winds and diffusion might have on rocket exhaust at various altitude regimes: in the lower thermosphere above the turbopause, molecular diffusion dominates and will thoroughly mix the exhaust plume with the ambient atmosphere in ∼1 week. As diffusive mixing transports a contaminant to lower altitudes, turbulent mixing becomes more important in distributing the plume components in the mesosphere and stratosphere.…”

OH observations of space shuttle exhaust

“…The impact of rocket exhaust on the upper atmosphere was a topic of intense research in the late 20th century [ Kellogg , 1964; Forbes , 1980; Mendillo , 1988]. However, there is still little data to provide insight to the ultimate fate of the effluents.…”

Bright polar mesospheric clouds formed by main engine exhaust from the space shuttle's final launch

“…The propellant from STS‐135 represents about 20% of all liquid propellants in vehicles launched between 6 June and 7 August 2011. Water vapor is a common effluent in liquid fueled launches [e.g., Kellogg , 1964] and the water vapor yield from the shuttle's main engines is over 95% by weight [ AIAA , 1991]. We note that each of the vehicles in Table 3 can have a different propellant combination that can produce other effluents besides water vapor.…”